GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) vs GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) by OpenAI or GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) by OpenAI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) scores 2.8 points higher (47.0 vs 44.2) but costs 4.1× as much to run the benchmark ($3465 vs $855; flagship vs premium cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) when you need intelligence above 44.2, and GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) when 44.2 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) | GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 47.0 | 44.2 | −6.0% GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) is 6.0% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,464.84 | $854.60 | −75.3% GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) is 75.3% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 91.96s | 39.03s | −57.6% GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) is 57.6% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $4.00 / $20.0 | $2.00 / $10.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) vs GPT-5.6 Sol (Max): 6.0% less intelligence, 75.3% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 57.6% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
- GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 51.00 for $662.
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max)GPT-6 Sol (Xhigh)Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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